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A network of adoptive families, birth families, and adoption professionals which exists to improve the lives of children and others touched by adoption through support and education. UFA is actively engaged in community outreach and advocacy to raise awareness of adoption as a loving option.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Embracing Openness: The Moon's Story.

Many times we hear wonderful stories of open adoptions. Openness that seems to flow without hiccups. Not every story is picture perfect... Today, UFA Board member, Jessica Moon shares her story of open adoptions. I asked her to be honest and tell it like it is and not sugar coat. I love her story because she didn't give up. Jessica and her daughter's Birth Mother faced the hard parts.

When I first heard the words “open adoption” I thought whoa I don’t want
to share my baby. I have dreamed of being a mother for so long why do I
have to share now? That perspective soon changed. I started learning
more about birth mothers and their journey. I remember sobbing as I was
listening to the song by Michael McLean “From God’s Arms to my Arms to
Yours”. My heart ached for these courageous and faithful women. I made a
promise to myself that I would ALWAYS make sure my children knew how
much their birth mother loves them.

When we were chosen by our daughter’s birth mother my heart was so
full of gratitude. I couldn’t believe that someone was willing to
entrust their child to us. It literally felt like a dream come true.
After meeting we quickly became friends and got along great! At
placement I felt like we were watching a young girl sacrifice something
so huge and so heart breaking. She held her daughter so close to her and
was sobbing uncontrollably. The spirit was so strong in the room. I
felt at peace that this sweet little girl was meant to be in our family.
She was going to be raised by us but loved by ALL of us. Just before
she placed her in my arms I said “This isn’t good bye, this is a see you
later.” She looked at me with such trust in her eyes. She gave her baby
one last kiss then placed her in my arms. Everyone left the room and it
was just our little family of three. Then I couldn't hold it together
anymore. My heart hurt and I cried harder than I ever had in my life.

Every day for the first few months we talked online to our
daughter’s birth mother. We sent pictures, e-mails and chatted for
hours. Two weeks after placement we had our first visit in our home with
her and her family. I would be lying if I told you it wasn’t difficult.
Her birth mother was very emotional. Which made it difficult for us to
see her that way, again. It felt like placement all over again. We know
that she needed to see her daughter in our home to help her with her
healing so we continued to have her over for a total of 20 visits that
first year. There was one visit that was extremely emotional for all of
us that still brings tears to my eyes. We had them over on Mother’s Day!
What an honor it was and a gift for me to be able to tell her Thank you
for making it possible for me to be a mother on that special day. We
held each other and cried. That was a beautiful moment and visit that I
will not forget.

As the months went on we started to have our challenges. There were a
lot of things that played into the difficulties we had in our
relationship. Some of the things were boundaries, lack of respect, and
my struggle with my own infertility. We were trying to do everything we
could to help her in her grieving process and the demands got out of
control. We were not comfortable with some of the requests and we
finally had to do something. Our daughter’s birth mother at the time
was very insecure and said some very hurtful things to me in regards to
my infertility. It was very difficult to hear especially from my
daughter’s birth mother. At this time she was having a hard time finding
her place and figuring out what her role was in our family. She felt it
was more of a co-parenting/foster care situation and not an adoption. I
was very surprised that I had an extremely difficult time on our
daughter’s second birthday. It hit me really hard that I will never have
those nine months with her. I will never know what it’s like to carry
her inside me. This little girl who I love with all my heart and my
whole life revolved around first belonged to someone else. It was as if I
hadn’t ever grieved this loss in my life. It hit me like a ton of
bricks. I realized that this same little girl was with her birth mother
for nine months and she grew to love her little girl and then placed her
with a family and entrusted her to us. She is sacrificing a lot more
than I ever will with loss. Our relationship went on a rocky road for a
few years. We all had to figure out our place and the healthiest way to
continue to have an open adoption. We prayed about it and all of us felt
that the visits needed to be cut back drastically. Also during this
time our daughter’s birth mother started getting some counseling. It
helped her to know what her role was in our life. She gained a new
perspective and that helped our relationship immensely! We still have
contact with her and send updates and pictures. We have a annual visit
and that has been working for us for the past couple of years. Our
daughter is now seven! She knows she was adopted. She knows her birth
family. She knows that she is loved by us AND her birth family. She
knows that she can ask us anything about her adoption or her birth
family. No one is perfect. We are all in this together. I have never
stopped loving our daughter’s birth mother and nor will I ever. She gave
me our beautiful daughter and for that I am eternally grateful.

We were blessed to be able to adopt our son who is five years old! We’ve
had a open and very healthy relationship with his birth mother. It’s
always been casual and felt comfortable. We love and adore her, her
family, and his birth father. We are grateful for the challenges we went
through with adoption, birth families, and openness. It has made us
stronger, smarter, and more patient. We have enjoyed helping many
families with their open adoptions. We encourage openness for all
involved in adoption. It has been a huge blessing in our lives!

This blog exists to permit communication with parties interested in adoption and members of United For Adoption (UFA), and to encourage discussion on issues relating to adoption. It is not the official website of UFA and statements made here should not be considered to be official or authorized statements of UFA or Covenant Adoption.